Silver lining of stem-cell suits

Published 4:00 am, Monday, March 13, 2006

CALIFORNIA'S pioneering stem-cell initiative operates in a free-fire zone of politics and subterfuge. But actions by state lawmakers and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine itself have set it on a course that appears to ensure that it is acting in the public interest.

The voter-approved undertaking is idling in neutral while a weak legal challenge by anti-abortion and anti-tax groups is decided in a Hayward court. The lawsuit amounts to a delay engineered by disgruntled opponents who lost when nearly 60 percent of voters approved Proposition 71 in 2004. The court challenge, in its final stages this month, could even run longer if it's kicked into appellate court.

But the long wait isn't entirely in vain. The institute, set up by the initiative to write research policy and approve grants, has set forth new specifics that open its activities to scrutiny and puts protections for egg donors are in place. Under the original time line, the institute would have started awarding research grants in the summer of 2005, before these policies could be put in place.

The dispute has left the institute scrambling to set up shop in San Francisco and get its policies and programs up and running. Bond money, slated at $300 million per year over a decade, can't be raised while a court challenge exists, so the institute's budget consists largely of $3 million from the state and another $5 million from wealthy benefactors.

Elite runners start the first wave of Bay to Breakers 2018San Francisco Chronicle

Coyote trots around Golden Gate parkTed Andersen, SFGATE

State oversight has strengthened with the joint legislative panel last week ordering a performance audit of preliminary spending by the program. Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento, has peppered stem-cell leaders to disclose more about their operations and policies, especially those relating to intellectual property. The audit will review the institute's strategic plans and look for conflicts of interest.

Robert Klein, the initiative's chief sponsor and chairman of its board, originally resisted these sensible requests, fearing political intrusion that would chase away investors and scientists.

These are all useful clarifications for a promising science virtually orphaned by the Bush administration. By stepping into a role abdicated by Washington, California has had to pioneer a workable and open system. That creates a blueprint for stem-cell research elsewhere and could set the stage for important breakthroughs.